Over 20,000 Washington state civilian workers facing federal furloughs
May 14, 2013, 2:46 PM | Updated: 3:00 pm
Over 20,000 civilian military workers in Washington state, many at JBLM will be furloughed for up to 11 days because of federal budget cuts, according to Sen. Patty Murray. (AP image)
(AP image)
Over 20,000 civilian military workers in Washington state will be furloughed for up to 11 days because of federal budget cuts, according to Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wa.)
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced the furloughs for most of the Department of Defense’s 800,000 civilian employees Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, this is the very real impact of a policy that must be changed, particularly in a state like ours that is home to thousands of military families. These furloughs will affect teachers, first responders, mechanics and so many others who are critical to serving those who serve us,” said Murray in a statement.
The furloughs could hit more than 10,000 civilian employees at Joint Base Lewis-McChord alone, The Seattle Times reported.
“These furloughs will impact tens of thousands of paychecks in our state and will hurt communities and families from the Peninsula, to Tacoma, to Spokane and in between. They are the wrong cuts, at the wrong time, and we need to replace them along with the entire sequester,” Murray said.
The furloughs could take effect as early as July 8, Hagel said.
